My Story Part 3

Our family now had seven kids, Naomi, Parker, Meribeth, Mattie, Sawyer, Asher, and Kiefer.  Naomi and Asher were still adjusting in November when God surprised us with Ella and Selah.

Ella and Selah’s story is pretty crazy, you can read it HERE.  I had always wanted a baby sister (doesn’t every girl?), and so all of my dreams came true with Selah Karis.  She and I have a special bond and I love her almost like my daughter (is that creepy…..?).  I loved every minute of rocking her to sleep and playing on the floor with her.  I remember sitting next to her Bumbo seat while she was watching Barney, reading my Bible every night.  She was just my little love!!  Even though she had THESE diagnoses, I still loved her recklessly.  She ended up undergoing skull reconstruction (the last picture of her is in the hospital for that surgery).  We also had to figure out ethnic hair with Ella.  Man, that was an uphill climb! 

My little Bug Bug (Selah):

 

 

During this time, God was really teaching me about worship.  We started going to a new church after Chrissie died because it was too hard on my dad to sit in the same sanctuary where her celebration of life was.  I was soaking all of the teaching up.  I joined a worship dance team and God birthed a love of worship in my heart.  He was revealing His Holy Spirit to me, also.  Then God called us to another church in the summer of 2011, and we still go to that church.  He was taking me down a road to intimacy with Him.  Now, my eyes are still being opened all the time and I have SO much to learn it is ridiculous, but during that time our relationship was deepening every day. 

God asked our family to host two Ukrainian boys in the summer of ‘11, Vlad and Dima.  That was an amazing summer.  11 kids running around in the Texas heat, it was pretty sweet.  I still love ol’ Vladdie and Dim-ka.  They will always be in my heart.

We believed God asked us to adopt them, and both Vlad and Dima wanted us to adopt them, so after they went back to Ukraine at the end of the summer, we started the process to adopt them. 

I had the privilege to go with my dad to Ukraine in December of 2011 to go bring Vlad and Dima home (so we thought).  When we got there, we were told they were no longer available for adoptions.  They put a bunch of pictures of other kids in front of my dad and basically said, “Pick some different ones”.  We went back to the apartment and were desperately trying to figure out what to do.  After a series of crazy events, God led us to Conner and Cooper.  They were two boys who had Down syndrome living in a dark place.  They were both so tiny from malnourishment, and we feared Conner wasn’t going to make it very much longer.

Dad and I flew home on December 21st, and on December 23rd, my Nana suddenly and unexpectedly died after having a heart attack while she was alone in her home.  That Christmas was the worst ever.  I was battling jet lag (it was way worst coming home), Selah was not sleeping through the night (the beginning of her sleep disorder, I’m talking staying up for hours on end), my Nana had just died, and we didn’t get to even “do” Christmas until the 31st.  I remember Christmas day was a Sunday, and the night before Selah was up for a LONG time and Meribeth and I switched off all night because we were trying to let Mom sleep after Nana had died.  We walked into church dead tired.  Not even functioning.  Blah. Then a few days later I spoke at my own grandma’s funeral.  Again, not trying to complain, this was just a pretty stinky week.

A big part of the next few months was Selah’s sleeping disorder.  Mom and Dad left to get Conner and Cooper in January, so Meribeth and I switched off staying up with Selah every other night.  Selah would go to bed really late (because we couldn’t get her to go to sleep earlier) then she would wake up, and we would rock her for anywhere from one hour to five hours.  Then she would usually wake up another time for a while.  But there was really no pattern.  I remember trying to do Chemistry after staying up all night, and just being blank.  A 14 year old really just can’t function like that.  But God!  He really did give me the strength to get through that.  I was able to get an A in every subject that year and eventually Mom did come back.  And with two new blessings!

Conner and Cooper are awesome. I love Down syndrome.  Coop-Coop and Ner are the nick-names I’ve given them, and I can’t get enough of their love.  Sure, Cooper’s breath smells pretty bad (because he always has his mouth open, which breed nasty-smelling bacteria), and Conner has spit up on me more than I can count, but those hugs are worth it. 

Me with the littles:

Fast forward past an awesome summer, some more sleepless nights, Asher leaving our family (after two years of respite, he returned to his original adoptive family), and a lot of adjusting since Conner and Cooper were 7-year-olds, but developmentally at about 6-month-olds.  God led us to an awesome sleep specialist who put her on an awesome sleep cocktail which has allowed her to have more predictable nights!  Which means SLEEP for us (a chorus of angels singing “Halleluiah”)!  We now have ten kids in our home, and four new kids in our school room (we are doing respite homeschooling for another family).  It’s been a wild ride, but I wouldn’t change any of it (ok, I would choose to have Chrissie by my side right now).  I will continue to strive to bring honor and glory to my Papa God, love my neighbor as myself, and be like Jesus.

I have a whole lot more to learn, but hey (as my favorite Uncle Si would say), I’m only 15!

My Story Part 2

First of all, thank all of you SO much for the birthday wishes, it made my day!!

Now for the continuation:

In the summer of 2009, God gave my mom a dream. It was a horrific nightmare about the mistreatment of special needs orphans in Easten Europe. God gave her the word ‘urgent’. She absolutely knew when she saw little “Barbara’s” face with the word ‘URGENT’ in the subject line of the email that she was ours. She was a little four year old girl in Serbia with big brown eyes and many severe congenital heart defects who wasn’t even supposed to be alive, much less make it to four years old. God also gave us her new name, “Christyn Joy”, which means ‘one who holds Christ in her heart’. All of us were on board, even after my parents explained that she “might not make it”. There was seriously not ONE SINGLE doubt in my mind that she would not survive the necessary surgery to fix her very broken heart.

My parents traveled to Serbia in October of 2009 and we became Chrissie's family the same month. From the moment she arrived Chrissie had captivated our hearts. I remember the first night she arrived, it was late and Chrissie was clinging to Mom and Dad. We all decided to sleep on Mom and Dad’s floor and while Mom was getting ready for bed I crawled into bed next to Chrissie and she snuggled close and hugged my neck so tightly. She later became famous for her choke hold hugs:).

It became apparent that she would not only captivate our hearts, but also the heart of every single person she came in contact with. From grocery store clerks, to her many specialists, everyone was in love with this miracle girl. The question in the back of everyone’s mind was, “When will she have the surgery?”. We scheduled a few times, but God kept delaying it in one way or another.

We did everything together:





This may seem like a rabbit trail or a sidetrack, but I need to tell Kiefer’s story now! Many of you know that in January of 2010 there was an awful earthquake in Haiti, and orphans were allowed to get out on Humanitarian Parole. My mom saw another picture of an orphan who would soon join our family! Kenwetchly Filostin (King Wetchly, as he says now) was my brother, no doubt. His face was just so darn cute!! His new name was ‘Kiefer’. God worked out a ton of details super fast, and I was able to travel with my mom to Miami to in April of 2010 to pick him up.
Some pics of Kiefer:

Kiefer was only 22 months old, and Chrissie’s open heart surgery was scheduled for April 19th. Two weeks after Kiefer came home! We knew that Mom and Dad would have to spend a lot of time at the hospital with Chrissie, and we couldn’t understand why God had brought us another kid right before such a monstrous event. But He knew better!

I think this is one of the only pictures we have of Kiefer and Chrissie together, he wouldn’t smile, but she was determined:).

You can read Chrissie’s heart surgery chronicles starting HERE. On May 19, 2010, Chrissie had open-heart surgery. On the day she had her surgery, she died, but God brought her back to us. My mom and dad were with my sister in the hospital. From my perspective, those days were pretty dark. I was only 12 and I was taking care of a two year old and felt very responsible for him. Kiefer was still learning to talk, didn't understand English, must have been scared out of his mind, and had lots of nasty diapers due to the multiple parasites he had in Haiti. I missed my mom and hated seeing my precious Chris-Chris in so much pain.  Then there were the days when we would all huddle around the computer and check for updates every five minutes. I would pack every Friday for all of us to go to San Antonio to stay at a campground and hopefully spend some time with Mom while my Nana stayed with Chrissie. Then every Sunday night I would unpack and start the next grueling week. I know for sure that without Jesus, there is no way I could have gotten through that. I cried myself to sleep with pitiful cries for help from Jehovah many nights. I’m not trying to complain, I’ve just read this story through my mom’s eyes many times, and don’t know if the kid’s view has ever been posted. Kiefer was such a joy, though, during those hard times. He would crack us up and was so fun to play with.
I remember the day so vividly. It was 4am and Dad woke me up and asked me to come sleep with Kiefer because Chrissie wasn’t doing well and he had to go to the hospital. I prayed in and out of sleep until at 5am, our teacher Stephanie (who lives on our ranch) woke me up saying she needed me to come now. I hopped out of bed and met everyone in the my room. There were five sleepy kids with fearful eyes sitting cross legged on the floor when Stephanie put the phone on speaker and all I could hear was my mom’s sobs. The minute I heard it I looked at everyone else and started shaking my head, rocking back and forth, while tears just ran from my eyes. My mom finally managed to get out that Chrissie had gone to be with Jesus. Even through all of the hospital stuff, I never EVER thought she would not make it. EVER. It felt like I had been punched and I went numb. No way, God, nuh uh.

We drove to the hospital early that Wednesday morning and I looked out the window at all of the cars, wondering how anyone could possibly go on with their day when my world had just shattered. I cried harder than I ever had that day. I couldn’t bear to look at those little pig tails sticking out of a blanket that covered her. I sank against her room’s wall and listened to K-LOVE as I tried to not pass out. There were a lot of hospital staff and people coming to send their condolences. I didn’t even notice. I was just in shock.

That whole summer went by in a daze. Every time I thought of her, which seemed like every minute, it felt like a knife was being plunged into my stomach and I got a stomach ache. Kiefer was the only thing that got us out of bed in the morning. I can’t tell you a whole lot that went on that summer. It felt like I “woke up” that fall when I was in the musical Pinnochio and made a lot of new friends (and, as only God would have it, we go to their church now and are still friends). I struggled a lot with wondering why God would ever do this to me. Me, me, me. Didn’t He take into account that I would be crushed?! I was bitter. I put on a happy face, but I just didn’t know how I could get over that nagging question, “Why, God?”. Now, that seems so cliche, but it’s true. I still have not answered that question, and probably wont until I get to heaven, but I have come back to my Papa God. It’s been a process, and it took a while, but in order to heal the hurt I harbored toward God, I felt like I needed to forgive Him. I know God doesn't sin, and therefore, doesn't need to be forgiven, but I had to come to grips with all the emotion I had in my heart.  I now fully trust that He works ALL things out for the good of those who love Him. This took off another deep layer of my selfishness. It’s just not about me. It’s about giving the deserving God of Wonders the honor He deserves! It’s about the time I DID get with the girl who changed my life. It’s about learning to treasure every friendship and love to the fullest. It’s about Jesus. This stirs me up, guys! The Holy Spirit is all over this! Even though I couldn’t see it then, I can now, and I thank the Healer of my heart.
Oh, that summer we got two new additions:). Naomi Faith and Asher. Naomi was brought home from Haiti a few days before her 18th birthday, and Asher was brought to us for two years as respite care.


I didn't mean for my story to be three parts, but it's proving too much for two:)

To be continued.......

My Story Part 1

I am following in my mom's footsteps and starting my own blog!  I am doing this sort of as a 15th birthday thing (which is today!) so I figured I would start off with my story written out for all to read:). 

       I grew up the only girl with two brothers.  I accepted Jesus as my Savior when I was 5.  I was a happy little girl, except that I HATED being the only girl in a "sea of boys" (my cousins on both sides were also boys) I and really wanted a sister.  Truth was, I didn't mind so much being the "princess" of the family and being a bit spoiled.  It was kind of nice.  Looking back now, I realize God must have placed the desire for a sister in my heart from early on for a reason.  That reason's name is Meribeth. 

       When I was around 7, I think, I asked my mom if she could have a baby, preferably a girl:).  Mom said that I would have to take it up with God.  I knew that God gave people that loved Him the desires of their hearts,  so I decided I would take it up with Him.  I prayed everyday that God would bring me a sister.  And He did, just not the way I thought He would.

     In the fall of 2007, my mom called me into her room one morning.  I crawled into her bed to peak at her computer screen.  On the screen was a picture of a little girl.  She had dark hair, dark skin, and dark eyes.  She was from Colombia.  Her shirt had the word, "Candy" written across it.  Her name was Luz Mery.  She was only 4 months older than me, 10 years old.  My mom started to explain to me that perhaps God was asking us to adopt her, and wanted to know my opinion.  I totally thought she was talking about a sponsorship through World Vision or something and replied, "Well, yeah, I'm all for it.  Don't you think you're making a big deal out of a sponsorship?" She looked a bit stunned and said, "No, like adopt her.  She would be your sister."  My heart skipped a beat and my stomach did some flip flops inside of me as I gleefully replied, "YES!!!!  A thousand times yes!!"  I ran out of the room and started jumping around.  Mom called me back in and we talked about how I wouldn't be the only girl anymore and I would have to give up a lot of things.  I was still 100 percent positive that I wanted to adopt Luz Mery.

       The next year flew by in preparations to bring Luz Mery home.  I was so excited to be sharing a room and bed and everything I could with my new sister.  We flew the whole family to Colombia in November of 2008, and actually got asked in the airport if we were moving because we had so much luggage!  The first day I met her, I was so nervous.  We were waiting in a small room for her to arrive.  Finally, Luz Mery, my beloved sister whom I had prayed for for so long, walked in the room.  Shy, timid, and so small.  I ran to her and hugged her tight.  As I embraced the sister I had for so long wanted, tears of joy streamed down my 10 year old face. 

       The days and weeks and months to follow were anything but easy.  There was no way I could have prepared myself for such a shock, and neither could she.  We were both thrown into unchartered waters and had to navigate blindly.  We made a lot of mistakes and had a lot of teary nights spent with a pillow between us to give us our own "space" in a bed we shared.  God was stripping me of my selfishness, and softening her heart.  God was also teaching me to accept Jesus as my Lord, not just my Savior.  Despite the language barrier, and our fights, she clung to me like glue.  She was much smaller than me and would literally hide behind me as I would translate for her.  Luz Mery asked us to call her 'Princesa', but God asked us to change her name to Mery Elizabeth (Meribeth), which means 'beloved, wished for child, chosen by God'.  I'm sure all of these changes were super tough on her.  I got pretty sick of her never leaving my side.  I must have forgotten how bad I had always wanted that sister!  Six months after she came home, she went to a camp and accepted Jesus.  She was changed from the inside out.  Jesus had come into her heart and was doing big things.  

       Things were going pretty well, and just when we thought our perfectly balanced, two girls, two boys family was working out, God called us to adopt again.

                                                             To be continued........